Ok, so here's my place. Right now my cat is meowing oddly. Who is she calling? Not me because I just fed her and she comes right to me when she's talking to me.... Just sort of a melancholy meow to nowhere.
I'm trying to short cut a bunch of emails by blogging, but I write such different things to different people! and then I'm not showing my professors my blog because I'm way too unprofessional on here!
I did get my official website started at the university---so if you know me and are reading this blog, you likely already saw that. I'm going to add some stuff to it eventually. I've also made a "MySpace" so I can keep tabs on my daughters, but my youngest has yet to add me to her friends list. I've got to update that one too. I don't really use it though. and then I need an AOL instant messager ID. That is the sure way to talk to my youngest, who is always on there. It is not my favorite communication mode, however....you all know I prefer email. It just seems that it is never inconvenient (unless people never read their email)....and I lose touch with the phone people because I am not big on the phone. Yet there are still many people my age and just a bit younger who have not managed to get on the email train.
Mr is going home on Sunday and I believe he is getting irritable (and I am too, likely). He never likes being off work and he doesn't like being "the spouse". He jokes that maybe I'll get rich and famous and he'll retire and be the spouse. Oh ha ha. Like that would ever happen. I've told him he is not allowed to retire because it is not for everyone. There are several stories of people who retire and promptly get a heart attack or something. He would hate it that much. Therefore, work forever. Since his work is intellectual, he can do it as long as his brain cells are working. If they aren't working, well then he won't really care much, will he?
I went to the graduate school orientation on Monday. Saw my friend who is about my age. Her husband has taken a job in New York, so they have a commuter marriage too. She has a 3yr old and a 7 yr old and graduated from Princeton (must be nice). She has an Au Pair (even nicer). We're going out together with our husbands on Saturday night. They'll have much to discuss. Both international worker types. Anyway, friend and I went to lunch at this great place with Tapas. I don't know if the name was tapas, but we ordered the shrimp on skewers and the chicken on skewers----so I took Mr back there on Thursday night when we were both hungry and we had the same thing, plus a pizza and some squid. We were trying to get the beef with horseradish sauce, but no, they STILL didn't have that (bummer).
Went to Whole Foods which is near by. The bread around here costs around 4 dollars. That is odd. Water is expensive, about 1.29 a bottle average. and No Ozarka! my fave.
At the grad orientation, I learned about some services, like the psych services. I think they are free. So I will avail myself of that, plop down and whine for a half hour or hour, whatever they offer. That keeps me sane (MOST of the time)----that and email from friends! Everyone feel free to write about the dumbest aspects of life and such. I'm sure I'll love hearing about it.
Oh but this is way cool....
....I already got some great assignments! I spoke with my advisor and I am meeting with his post-doc on Monday in order to prepare to do interviews! They are around 2 hour interviews, oh my gosh, I cannot wait! It uses the life story interview format. I can send a copy if anyone wants to see it. Some of you saw it when I did some work last year but I only used four questions.
He gave me a big ole paper about this study and explained what my part will be. There will be about 90-100 interviews and then I'll be coding some of them with another girl who will get hired as a research assistant. I'm already hired in the sense that they pay me and I'm sort of expected to do 20 hours of work a week. If this is work, I can do WAY more than 20 hours! Woo Hoo!
So me an the RA (research assistant) will both code stories such as "high point" where someone explained to an interviewer a high point in their life that they remember. I'll code it for various themes and then she codes it. We'll work until our coding is very close to the same (called interrater reliability). And we get to go through one type of story at a time----like 95 high points and then maybe 95 low points!
I'm so excited about it!!!
That is exactly what I wanted to do here! Hooray!
I am also trying to sign up for classes. The stupid sign up program is not familiar to me and so I cannot tell what I am doing. There are problems on the other end, though, such as the stats class got complicated and is closed to students in my department when it usually is not. So we've got to get special permission.
All the grad classes are only open to specific students by special permission, so you need codes. I find it complicated!
Plus I had to get my school ID car and a new bank account. I haven't changed my mail yet. I have to send out address stuff to friends. I have my office and office phone---how cool is that!?!
and they are giving me a Dell computer (cool). I do not need a lap top but I still want one because I like to work somewhere other than just at a desk. This desktop is rough. I don't like sitting in one place all day---which I'll be doing soon!
and I've got loads of reading already.
about 2 to 3 inches of copies of articles to be read by Tuesday. I definitely think it is fun, but last night when I was trying to read some---I kept veering off in my mind thinking about my own relevant experiences to the writing. I mean, I read that SAME page about four times, but each time I would keep scanning the words while I went off in wonderland.
So I'm hoping it is just because it was late.
Glad I have my car here.
had considered going without a car---NO WAY! so glad I brought it! I kind of might like a bike though. One thing at a time, however, and we're not to the bike stage yet.
Blessings to all! I've been on here too long! Mr is still sleeping. We go to sleep by midnight and he sleeps until 10:30am.....it will be rough for him getting back on schedule--and he doesn't sleep well without me there.
Ignore the typos. I was just trying to put a bunch on here since some of you actually READ this thing. THANKS!
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